it came upon a midnight clear
by ChiquitaDave
Summary: A grad student who is too smart for his own good gets something he could never prepare for. - Max Centric


CW: Cursing, Violence (fairly graphic)

SO. The inspiration for this came up when I had just finished watching episode 5 of "Love, Death, and Robots." I also love John Carpenter's "The Thing," so I thought it'd be fun to write a one-shot and explore some horror elements while I got back into writing. Let me know what you think!

* * *

It was 2 AM, and Max Perez-Wilkins could not sleep. The floor under his sleeping bag dug into this hips, and the corners of the sleeping quarters harbored malevolent shadows that loomed over the research team as they rested.

The North Pole was colder than he could ever envision, and researching extraterrestrial pokemon was a difficult job in normal temperatures, let alone sub-zero ones. But when he was given an opportunity to go on a research trip as a Ph.D. student, he took it without a second thought. Now, with his wallet half a grand lighter and his body at least 15 pounds lighter, he was a hemisphere away from his family, girlfriend, and the majority of his pokemon and suffering from severe insomnia every night. It was shaping up to be a lonely Christmas.

He sat up onto his forearms and analyzed the room, picking the best way to exit without waking everyone. He weaved through his sleeping colleagues, feeling the cold seep deep into his body. The hallways of the recreation wing were just as dark and dank as the sleeping quarters, but the addition of fluorescent wall lights kept the shadows at bay. Max headed near the main exit and stopped at his cubby, pulling out his gaiters, parka, and goggles.

He just needed to get some fresh air before he attempted to sleep again.

The main exit wasn't heavily guarded as they show in movies, rather, it barely even had an alarm system. Almost everyone in the complex carried a stun gun or tranquilizer in case of rabid pokemon or the rare intruder, and the mandatory training on their usage was a requirement before stepping on the base. He felt a wall of cold air hit him as he opened the bullhead, and his cell phone pinged incessantly as soon as his phone connected to the nearest cell tower, which was nestled on the outskirts of Aupavik, the only village within driving distance. Twitter notifications and text messages cluttered up his phone screen. He received a "Merry Christmas, I miss you! 💖" from Vivi, a couple of pictures and messages from May, her fiancé, and his baby nephew, and two texts from his parents.

**From: Mamá To: Me**

_Merry Christmas! Bring back some bones for me? :)_

Attached was a picture of a fossil she was cleaning, taken presumably a few days before at work. From what Max could see, it looked like a trilobite, possibly one of the early predecessors to the anorith evolutionary line. He quickly typed back _i'll try lol, merry christmas. _His father had texted him as well, wishing him a nice day at work and expressing how he missed him.

Max put his phone away, its weight sitting like a brick in his pocket. He was homesick, which was the most baffling part of it all. He had been all over the world, on several journeys. He had worked with lileep in the Orange Islands, he had researched unknown in the Ruins of Alph. He had participated in several pokemon leagues and even participated in Johto's Olympic battling team. It wasn't the time of year, either. Christmas was hardly a holiday in Hoenn, the only reason they celebrated was because of his Unovan mother.

"Can't sleep, Perez?" He heard the voice of one of his peers, another grad student named Amelia.

"Nah. Apparently you can't either, Miss Sanders," he replied.

"My husband texted me. I think he's really having trouble with our kids," she said, kicking the snow off the metal balcony.

"Sorry to hear that."

"Eh, it's alright. I miss them."

"I know how you feel."

The two fell silent, staring at the ethereal night sky.

"I can see Orion's belt!" Amelia said, pointing upwards.

"Wait, that's not Orion's belt. Look at how it's blinking," Max replied. "What is that? Can you see those lights?"

"I think so," Amelia said, enthusiasm waning, "Wait, do you see that? I think it's coming closer. I know that sounds weird."

"No, no, look at the form behind it. Dude, it's heading here!" Max yelled, rushing to open the bulkhead. He grabbed Amelia's arm and yanked her inside, slamming the door.

"What the fuck, Perez?!" She hissed.

"Did you hear that crash? That meteor weighs a ton and is _glowing_!" Max began jogging to the captain's wing. Amelia followed silently behind, bristling. Max banged on the door of his professor's bedroom, and out came a disheveled older man with a large white beard.

"What is the issue, Mr. Perez?"

"Sir, you want to come see this," Max grinned.

30 minutes later, the entire compound was awake and dressed. Two of the stronger students were trying to pry apart the large, rock-like meteor. Their power tools were illuminated by a sickly purple light. Other researchers had set up computers and sensors to measure the activity around the meteor. The carbon readings were abnormal, but not 'alien life' abnormal. And yet, here they were. Trying to crack open a glowing purple space rock in the middle of the night.

The next thing that happened was the perfect storm. Jeremy Smalls, the power tools guru, got his glove caught against the bit of the drill, abrading the wool of his gloves and part of his hand. The injury itself was not awful, but whatever was living inside the meteor was alerted to the accident and smacked Jeremy's drill out of his hand and into the thigh of another student. The student screamed, startling the creature, which flung a thick, black tentacle into a stack of emergency oxygen tanks. One of the older researchers, who hadn't yet kicked his habit of smoking, was flung backward. His cigarette ignited the oxygen, causing a massive explosion, which sent most of those in the immediate area flying backwards.

The next thing Max witnessed was waking up in a hospital bed with his sister next to him. He heard May scuttle around the room and smash the nurse's call button, eyes wide. They caught each other's gaze, and May gave him a sheepish smile.

"Hi."

Max looked around the room and began to sit up. "What happened? Where am I?"

"Equipment failure at your research base. They sent you to this hospital a few days ago. You're in Slateport General," May said, gently pushing him back against the bed. "You were really bad off, Max. We were all so worried."

Max knew for a fact this wasn't equipment failure. Was that the lie they had told everyone? Why would they keep life-changing news like this from the public?

"Where is everyone?"

"Dad's working downstairs because they said you were stable. Mom is showering at our apartment. Vi and Drew went to go get food."

"Ah."

"Oh! I have a stack of mail for you, just to read when you're feeling better. You'll get bored sitting here," May handed him a stack of letters tucked inside the middle of the novel he was reading. She shrugged, seeming preoccupied. "Mom hid your bills and probably paid them, so don't try to fight her on it. I'm really sorry, but I need to go to my apartment and grab my work laptop. Drew said he'll be up here in 5. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine," he waved her off, beginning to tackle the stack of letters in his novel. The one that caught his eye was a white envelope with his professor's trademark handwriting scribbled across the corner. It must've been hand-delivered because there were no stamps or signs of being mailed. Max tore open the seal and began deciphering the chicken scratch in front of him.

_Mr. Perez, _

_I am terribly sorry for what happened to you a few weeks ago. I regret involving you in this, and I am sorry for what I have put you through. Please, take care of yourself, and try to cleanse yourself of this experience. Mention what you witnessed to no one, for they are always watching, and listening. _

_Stay safe._

_Mark Harrell_

Max never considered himself a lucky man, rather, he considered himself quite hapless in many areas. In a few months, the incident was tucked in the back of his mind. He changed his Ph.D. concentration, proposed to Vivi, and prepared to graduate, having told no one about what had occurred. But when he was alone, and things were quiet, he felt the nagging suspicion that something was _off_. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he took care to not expose anything. Maybe then they'd stop listening.


End file.
